1 SOUTH AFRICAN KOREAN WAR VETERANS ASSOCIATION Cell number: 0836548501 PO Box 90003 Fax number: (012) 312-2390 Garsfontein E-Mail Address: dirklouw57@gmail.com Pretoria South Africa 0042 NEWSLETTER NO 283 DECEMBER 2014 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Christmas is around the corner and I want to wish all members and friends a Christmas to remember. Christmas is a time for sharing the most valuable thing we can offer, time and friendship. Below is an original Christmas Card given to 2 Squadron members by the 18 th Fighter Bomber Wing on Christmas day 1951. Christmas in Korea. Padre Doompie Cloete as Father Christmas handing out Christmas gifts and on the right 2 Squadron members enjoying Christmas Dinner (Pictures: 2 Squadron in Korea Flying Cheetahs 1950 to 19653 by Winston Brent)
2 Correction. I hereby want to correct an error in my previous newsletter in an article on Lt G.H. Krohn. I incorrectly referred to Lt H.G. Krohn and not to Lt G.H. Krohn. I have however verified the names on the South African Memorial in Pyeongtaek City and can confirm that both the names are correct. Visit to Kwazulu Natal. I finally had the opportunity to meet our Kwazulu Natal Veterans and visited Ivan and Trish Holshausen, Basil and Sybil Letherbarrow, Horse and Val Sweeny and Albie Gotze at their homes. I did not have the opportunity to meet Albie s wife as she was not at home at the time. Although this was the first time I met the Holshausen s, Letherbarrow s and Sweeny s it felt to me that we were old friends. I want to thank all these members for inviting me into their homes and especially Horse Sweeney who met me halfway between Durban and Port Shepstone. Below are photographs of the veterans when they served in Korea and photographs with their spouses. 2/Lt I.A. Holshausen A/M B.D. Letherbarrow Lt J.M. Sweeney Ivan and Trish Holshausen Basil and Sybil Letherbarrow Horse and Val Sweeney Lt A.R. Albie Gotze Brig Gen Albie Gotze Those that are no well Albie Gotze was admitted to the hospital a day after my visit. To him and the other members whose health are not that good, please get well soon!
3 Birthdays in December 2014 The following members will celebrate their birthdays in December. To Beth Earp (22), Ann McDonnell (26), Nicolette Copson (23), Jeanette Louw (20) and to Ursula Dutton (26) and all their loved ones have a wonderful day and may you be blessed with good health Dirk Louw 2014 REVISIT KOREA PROGRAM OVER THE PERIOD 9 TO 14 NOVEMBER 2014 I had the privileged to be invited for the 2014 Korea Visit Program over the period 09 to 14 November 2014. I want to dedicate this newsletter to all the members who has not yet had the opportunity to visit Korea. For me, everything was till now only a few pictures in books. Having the opportunity to stand at the graves of those South Africans that has fallen so far from home, was a very humbling experience. The participants of this program were the Veterans and their families and were hosted by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the Korean Veterans Association. The purpose of the Revisit Program was to convey the Korean people s appreciation and respect for the Korean War Veterans who sacrificed themselves to defend the democracy. The objective of this program is to show Korean Veterans and their families the miraculous growth of Korea s economy which is based on the sacrifice and contribution of the United Nations Command Korean War Veterans. I used the opportunity to document many facts regarding the different memorial sites and cemeteries over this period. However, to publish all this information, I will have to break it up into various segments over the next few months. I will therefore provide a short overview in this newsletter on the activities during this period. Day 1 Orientation and Korean Culture & Spirit Lecture.. The Program commenced on the first day with an Orientation and Korean Culture and Spirit Lecture. The details regarding the visit program was presented. Other opportunities such as the youth camps and the foreign studies program were discussed. Detail in this regard will be provided in due course. Participants were introduced to the Korean culture and customs. Below are a few of the participants that made use of the opportunity to dress up in the Korean Traditional attire. In the photograph on the right is our Tour Leader Cathy. This lady s dedication, time keeping and ability to herd the Veterans and family members was astounding.
4 Wreath Laying & Incense Offering. A wreath laying and incense offering ceremony was held at the Seoul National Cemetery. After the lectures and culture experience we were all assembled in the reception of the hotel. I had the opportunity to meet the President of the International Federation of the Korean War Veterans Association, Mr J.R. Bishop from Canada and Mr Frank Fallows, the Chairman of the British War Veterans Association. Frank and I have been communicating for a few months prior to this visit. After arrival at the Cemetery, all the veterans were formed-up and the National President of the International Korean War Veterans Association, Mr John R. Bishop laid a wreath on behalf of all the Veterans. This was a very emotional moment for many of the Veterans who remembered the fallen friends. This was our first experience of the Korean s appreciation and respect for the Korean War Veterans. The guard of honour consisted of proud Korean Soldiers. Their conduct, discipline and uniforms did the Korean Defence Force proud. This is a photograph of all the Veterans and family who attended the re-visit program. The gentleman in the wheel chair is a Swedish Surgeon, Anders Tang who served during the Korean War as a Health Inspector. He will celebrate his 100 th birthday on 17 December 2014. Many of the Veterans were accompanied by their family members.
5 Dr Tang, my wife Cornel and his loving daughter Birgitta Tang Fagerlund. The Seoul National Cemetery has beautiful statues and the graves and gardens were kept in an immaculate condition. Below are a few of these spectacular statues. The thousands of graves at the Seoul Cemetery brought the reality of the death and destruction caused during the war. However, it is heart warming to see how these soldiers are remembered.
6 Day 2. Turkey Monument unveiling Ceremony. Day 2 commenced in Busan with the unveiling of the Turkish War memorial. Nearly 21,000 Turkish soldiers sacrificed themselves in defence of the freedom and peace on the Korean peninsula. Of these a total of 1,399 Turkish were killed and 966 were wounded or missing in action. In a very moving ceremony, the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, Park, Sung Choon unveiled the Turkish War Memorial. In the photographs below are the Turkish War Memorial and a very strong contingent of Turkish Korean War Veterans who have attended the ceremony. The bravery of these soldiers was on several occasions acknowledged by the other Korean War Veterans present. South African graves. Before the commencement of the Turn Towards Busan Ceremony I had a few minutes to search for the South African Graves. I found the graves at the top of the hill in the Cemetery under the waving flags of all the Allied forces. It was a very humbling experience to physically stand at the graves of the ten pilots and one ground crew at the cemetery after seeing it only in books before. Below are pictures of the cemetery with a small window of the graves. On the top the flags could be seen. In the second photograph is a close-up of the South African Flag and the eleven graves. I have added the pictures of these fallen airmen above the photographs of the graves. It is sad that I could not find a photograph of Air Corporal W.D. Patterson who died in an accident in Korea. I will however pursue this issue.
SAKWVA NEWSLETTER NO 283 DECEMBER 2014 7 No photograph available The newest grave at the Cemetery is that of Captain Davis. Captain Davis wife, Moira (since married to Willem van den Bos, also an ex-korean 2 Squadron pilot) and her daughter and son joined the Korean re-visit program in 1991. On arrival Moira expressed a wish to visit the area where her husband was killed. With the help of Mr.Kap Chong Chi, a very close friend of the SAKWVA, Moira and her dependents were taken to a village close to the map reference on the crash site. Enquiries at the local police station were unsuccessful, as no one at the station had been born at that time and no records were available. However, they were directed to a farmer who lived in the hills near the crash site. On questioning him, he told them that he had seen an aircraft crash and gave the time as late winter, early spring. He took them to the site where the aircraft had crashed and the body buried. Definite confirmation was established as he said that the pilot must have been a very senior man as he had three stars on his shoulders. John s son collected an urn of earth and the family returned to Seoul, after what had been considered an impossible mission. Captain Davis body was later recovered by the Graves Commission and buried in the UN Cemetery.
8 Turn Towards Busan Ceremony. The Turn Towards Ceremony was attended by a few hundred High ranking Government Officials, War Veterans and their Families, military personnel and public. It was a proud moment to see the South African Flag (second from left) marched on as of the 21 countries that made a contribution during the Korean War. After all the tributes towards the 21 Nations and Korean Veterans that have sacrificed their lives, wreaths were laid at the Memorial. United Nations Peace Memorial Hall Opening Ceremony We were then rushed to the other side of Busan to attend the United Nations Peace Memorial Hall Opening Ceremony. The opening of the United Nations Peace Memorial Hall was once again a spectacular display of the Korean Government s commitment towards their efforts to remember the sacrifices of all the soldiers that has fought for the freedom of the Republic of Korea. We were met by two rows of soldiers holding their sables in the form of an arch to allow the Veterans and family through. After were shown to our seats, Military Cadets placed a memorial scarf around the necks of all the Korean Veterans and their families. Few of the Veterans have ever experienced such gratitude for their sacrifices. The United Nations Peace Memorial Hall has that information and artefacts to the memorial Hall. There wait a big task for the Association as only information exhibited in the Museum is the pictures below. I will ensure that the correct information is provided to the management of the museum.
9 After lunch we had the opportunity to visit the Museum where a few exhibitions have been displayed. The South African display consisted out of three posters portraying a Mustang with the words South Africa, a short extract of our participation and then pictures of six sleeves with NCO s rank insignia. As the information displayed is incorrect I will make an effort to correct the information as soon as possible. Day 3 Visit to the DMZ. The visit to the DMZ was a very interesting experience portraying the stand-off between the two countries. In the picture below are the South Korean Rock Soldiers staring to the North Korean soldiers on the other side while we took pictures of the North Korean Tourists taking pictures of us. Ample memorabilia are for sale as well as these Rock Soldier branded Aviators sunglasses. Mine is bigger than yours. During the Olympic Games in Seoul, a South Korean Flag, 100 meters high (on the left) was erected on the South side of the border. The North retaliated and erected a flagpole with the biggest flag in the world a staggering 180 meters high. Below the North Korean Flag is the Freedom City with little or no inhabitants. This city was build for propaganda
10 purposes and is believed to be empty shells. In the pictures below are the South Korean Flag on the left and the North Korean Flag on the right. Look at the enormous structure supporting the flagpole. Thank You Banquet Once again we were amazed with the efforts the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans made to host the Thank You banquet in the Dynasty Hotel in Seoul. We were treated to Korean Traditional Music, Amazing Graze and a few songs from the Sound of Music. All this entertainment was provided by a group of young girls called the Little Angels. Their lovely voices brought tears to eyes of the guests. The Minister of Patriots and Veterans handed of Ambassador of Peace medals to the Veterans for their sacrifices they made. The Korean People s gratitude towards the Korean War Veterans was again repeated and the words Korean War Veterans, You will always be our Heroes was displayed throughout the ceremony on a big screen. We had the honour to share the company of the Political Counsellor of the South African Embassy, Mr. Ismail Esau. Mr Esau invited us to accompany him to the South African Memorial Service the next day. This was a wonderful evening which I will remember for a long time.
SAKWVA NEWSLETTER NO 283 DECEMBER 2014 My wife and I with Counsellor Esau 11 The two Military Cadets who were acting as our hosts and Mr Trygve Jensen from Norway Day 4 The South African Memorial Service at the Korean War Monument to the South African Air Force. Mr Esau s invitation to attend the memorial service was a welcome relieve to my predicament to visit the South African Monument so far from the Hotel. The monument was located next to the highway at 1-7 Yongi-dong Pyeongtaek in the Gyeonggi-do Province, one hour s drive from Seoul. Despite the fact that we were not formally invited, my wife and I received a warm welcome and were immediately included in the guest list. We were also requested to lay a wreath on behalf of the South African Korean War Veterans. The memorial service was attended by more than 200 Korean War Veterans and once again it was a heart warming experience to see the South African Flag so far from home. I had the opportunity to document all the information of the Korean War Monument of the South African Air Force. I will provide all this information in the next Newsletter. The majestic figure of the Springbok and the waving South African Flag can be seen from the Highway
12 The Organizer, Mr Yoo, Chi-jung, Head of the Pyongtaek branch of Korean War Veterans Association expressed his wish for the South African Korean War Veterans to attend this Memorial Service next year. Counsellor Esau offered his assistance to make this a reality. VISIT TO THE BRAAI REPUBLIC RESTAURANT Counsellor Esau took us for lunch at the Braai Republic Restaurant. Here we were welcomed with true South African hospitality by Louis Strydom and were treated to South African cuisine. Louis and his partners Roddy Bancroft and Chris Truter started this very successful Restaurant in Seoul. I want to urge all people who love South African food to visit and support these three South African Entrepreneurs in Korea. NS. They are also making real South African biltong! (www.thebiltongguykorea.com, braairepublicseoul@gmail.com) THOUGHT FOR THE DAY No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life goes on, and it will be better tomorrow Maya Angelou